Western natural gas prices followed suit, falling between 6 and 26 cents in trading. Southern California Border natural gas lost the most value in the trading period, down 26 cents to $2.77/MMBtu. PG&E CityGate managed to remain above the $3 mark at $3.36/MMBtu.

Power Prices Tumble

Over the trading week, power prices across the West fell between roughly $11.25/MWh and as much as $16.30/MWh. South of Path 15 dropped the most, tumbling $16.30 to $30.30/MWh in the trading period. Prices ranged from $22.20 at Mid-Columbia to $33.50/MWh at North of Path 15.

Power trades made on Thursday, Sept. 29, were posted for Oct. 1 delivery. No trades occurred Sept. 30.

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Average nighttime power prices followed suit, dropping between $3.30 and as much as $8.10. The California Oregon-Border saw the greatest loss, down $8.10 to $23.20/MWh (see chart).

Demand peaked on the CAISO grid at 42,810 MW Sept. 26, which should be the high for the week. Northwest Power Pool use reached 54,818 MW that same day.

In September, average natural gas prices were higher compared to the same month last year (see “Price Trends,” next page). The average high price at Henry Hub was $3.14/MMBtu, which was 40 cents higher than in 2015. Gas prices at Western hubs ranged from 19 cents to 37 cents/MMBtu higher than in September 2015.

In contrast, average Western power prices in September were lower by $1 to $5/MWh versus 2015 prices. COB was the exception at $1.70 more than the average high price in 2015.
[Linda Dailey Paulson].

Archives of the Western Price Survey for the past year are also available online.

The Western Price Survey is excerpted from Energy NewsData's
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